Orlan Love, CR Gazette –
CEDAR RAPIDS — For reasons ranging from personal security to “because I can,” the number of Iowans with permits to carry concealed weapons increased 154 percent during the first year of relaxed laws governing their issuance.
Dennis Rosekrans, 63, of rural Cedar Rapids — one of more than 60,000 Iowans who’ve secured permits in the year since Iowa went from a “may issue” to a “shall issue” state — said the main reason he obtained one is that the Legislature made it easier to do.
Rosekrans said the law change enabled him to act upon his long-held interest in taking responsibility for his and his family’s defense.
Melissa Halserty, 43, and Kelly Kellner, 41, friends and neighbors in southwest Cedar Rapids, say concern about safety and security in their homes inspired them to seek a license to carry a handgun.
“We’ve had three recent home invasions in our neighborhood, and my husband has been after me to learn how to protect myself,” Halserty said.
“It’s not the worst neighborhood in town, but it’s not the best, either,” said Kellner, whose husband often works an overnight shift. “I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
At the beginning of 2011, 39,397 Iowans had permits to carry concealed weapons, secured during an era in which county sheriffs had considerable discretion over their issuance.
At the end of 2011, with the sheriffs’ discretion largely nullified by the law, that number had climbed to 99,932, with more 2011 permits still trickling into the state database, said Sam Knowles, bureau chief of the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
That surge — during which the percentage of Iowans with a permit to carry increased from 1.3 percent to 3.3 percent — has been “a bit of a phenomenon,” Knowles said.
“Just the widespread general awareness that it is available led a lot of people to think about (obtaining a permit), but in the end, I couldn’t tell you why” the response has been so dramatic, he said.
“Honestly, I was not surprised at the increase,” said Jeff Burkett, president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, which lobbies and advocates for the right to keep and bear arms. “I fully expected (the number of Iowa permit holders) to reach 100,000 by the end of last year.”
In Linn County, where the number of permits increased 183 percent — from 1,871 to 5,298 — during 2011, Sheriff Brian Gardner said widespread publicity surrounding the law change was the biggest factor.
“People found out how easy it was to get one and took advantage,” Gardner said.
Many Iowans “got permits just because they can,” said Lonny Pulkrabek, sheriff of Johnson County, which registered more than a fourfold increase in carry permits — from 552 to 2,270 — during the past year.
Pulkrabek and other informed observers say many of the permit holders have no intention of ever carrying their weapons in public.
Halserty and Kellner, who were practicing their marksmanship Saturday at the Izaak Walton League indoor shooting range in Cedar Rapids, said they fall into that category.
“I just want to feel more competent that I could handle a dangerous confrontation if one ever occurred,” Halserty said.
Pulkrabek, a critic of the law, said Johnson County issued 381 permits last year to people with criminal records that did not include felony convictions or other disqualifies specified in the law. “I probably would have denied a good portion of them if I still had discretion,” he said.
Knowles at the Department of Public Safety said he had heard of only a few untoward incidents involving people with permits to carry, mainly drunken driving arrests of people carrying weapons.
Pulkrabek and Gardner said they still worry about the law’s lack of a requirement that applicants demonstrate proficiency with a weapon before being granted a permit.
So does Bob Godlove, a 20-year handgun instructor at the Izaak Walton League in Cedar Rapids, which for many years conducted all the training classes, including range qualification, for Linn and Johnson County weapons permit applicants.
The league, which trained 300 applicants in 2011, still requires range qualification before training certificates are signed.
“I was in favor of the ‘shall issue’ law, but I am not at all in favor of giving a permit to anyone who steps up and wants one,” Godlove said.
While I sit back and think about this article it begins to make more sense. Thank you for informing me with additional info on this topic.
Patriot…you are right on target with you information and opinions…thanks for the notes! I have taken several classes over the years including “active” shooting at a range and have learned something new every time!
not me with the mental disorder, someone i know and it worries me that they have one and how they can keep it. Know for a fact they wont give it up.
really would love to know why someone that has been diagnosed with a mental disorder can obtain a permit to carry!!!???? Im all for the right to carry, but not when this doesnt get checked into..
You can give your permit back, you don’t have to keep it especially if you have concerns about your mental stability.
Go find a qualified instructor and take the whole 8 hour class with live fire training. It is well worth it! I have shot for years and still learned a bunch about gun handling.. There are great instructors out there..
So is range qualification different than a handling and proficiency class? Exactly what kind of training do you have to take? Sounds confusing to me…
Range qualification is goin to a shooting range and following instruction as to how to fire. Passing is based on your score. This demonstrates that you know how to properly handle your weapon and can indeed hit a target.
As I said before, I have no problems with taking a day long class and range qualification. Only a wise choice I think. Even though it’s not required, I think anyone wishing to carry a firearm would be wise to take the course. Alot of good information is given during class and the instructor will help you with your weapon at the range.
I beleive all you have to take now is a class with no range qualification required. I’ve heard some people take an online course that qualifies as well. I would not reccomened that myself. Hands on is much more informative.
Since we can’t depend on the current president or his administration to uphold and protect our 2nd Amendment rights, I’m happy our legislators acted on and passed this type of bill. Its situations like this that make it all that much more important to contact your state elected officials and let them know how you feel. Remember, this was approved in both houses by Democrats and Republicans alike.
The only thing about the new law I didn’t like was the fact you did not have to attend a weapons class and prove you were compotent with a weapon.
I have been shooting for years, since I was a child. When I took my original test you attended a day long class and fired your weapon. Even with years of experience, I picked up some good pointers from the instructor.
I would have no problem with that addition to the new law IF they can simply change that and leave the rest alone.
The country has changed, become more violent. You take a risk simply going to the gas station, when you go in to pay, you never know if someone is going to rob the store while your there. The incident this summer in the north end proves how crazy some of these people are getting.
Nothing wrong with protecting yourself or your family. The police cannot be everywhere all the time. You do have to be a responsible person though. It is not a game, it could become a life and death situation and you need to be ready for that. If your going to pull your weapon you better be ready and know how to use it.
And be ready to get shot.
If you wan’t to be a victim, feel free, I on the other hand know how to use my weapon and will do so in defense of my life.
Hope the police can get to you quick if you find yourself in trouble or the ambulance, maybe the undertaker.
You don’t wan’t to protect yourself fine, don’t condemn those of us who do.
It was sad that Iowa passed this law before they added a clause that required a weapons handling and proficiency class. Not requiring that just gives liberals a bigger reason to hate people who cling to their guns. I believe that most NRA members wanted this law to include a handling and proficiency requirement for safety’s sake. What was wrong with our legislators who rushed this into law without thinking it through thoroughly?